By James McAfee

I’ve found the what may be the perfect putter for senior golfers like myself or for other golfers with bad backs! It’s the Nickel 1, invented by German Werner Nickel.

A marking insert made of a synthetic material that weighs only 12 grams that goes in the underside of the putter’s head allows you to actually mark your ball on the green without bending over. The marker made of magnetized stainless steel is held in position by a magnet integrated into the putter head.

Hold your putter vertically and place the club head over the ball with the face toward the cup. Push down in a firm straight motion, then lift straight up. This motion will pick up the ball and release the marker directly behind the ball. The ball will remain on the club head.

Press the raised portion of the ball to take it out and clean it if necessary. When ready, put the ball back into the head cavity.

Place the club head over the marker with the face toward the cup. Locate the marker through the viewfinder, then press down firmly. Then use a rolling motion over the rear of the club head to release the ball and pick up the marker. This takes a little practice, but soon you get it down.

It’s seems that right-handed golfers should use their right hand and left-hander golfers their left hand to perform this process.

When you make the putt—and I seem to make more now—another patented pick-up accessory attached to the grip end of the putter with a pair of screws can take the ball out of the cup, again without bending over. It remains conveniently tucked away and closed during play. With a flip of a thumb, like on a cigarette lighter, it pops up and ready to grab the ball out of the hole. This sure beats those rubber suction cups used by some seniors. If you have a putter you like already, just buy the Ball Pick-Up.

To conform to United States Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club rules for tournament play, you can remove the device (it takes only a few seconds) and you have instant compliance to USGA rules.

In tests conducted by an independent testing company, I’m told that the Nickel I actually outperformed the Odyssey 2-Ball, the best selling putter ever.

I can’t wait to see what Nickel comes up with in the future.

James McAffee is a former editor of Golf Digest Magazine who currently writes about the rules of golf and travels for www.examiner.com